Can You See Anything Now?, a debut novel, follows a year in the small town of Trinity where the tragedy and humility of a few reveal the reality of people's motivations and desires.

This is a story without veneer, and for readers who prefer reality to sanitized fiction--this book is unsentimental, and yet grace-filled.

The characters here are complex and intriguing--the suicidal painter, Margie, who has been teaching her evangelical neighbor, Etta, how to paint nudes; her husband, the town therapist, who suspects his work helps no one; and their college-aged daughter Noel--whose roommate, Pixie, joins them at home for a winter holiday, only to fall into Trinity's freezing river.

Author Katherine James is no stranger to tragedy. In the Spring of 2018, Paraclete will publish James's memoir, Notes on Orion, in which the author reflects on her son's heroin addiction and his subsequent overdose.